Since we are currently looking at the mysterious world of spiritual creatures, it would be beneficial to examine the popular topic of “ghosts.” October is a month where we see “ghosts” everywhere, in front of houses, at work and all over school.
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But do they actually exist? Or is it a silly superstition?
In discussing angels and demons, a common question arises in regards to ghosts. What are they? Angels, demons, souls in purgatory, another type of spiritual creature?
Ghosts are extremely popular and are the topic of numerous movies and TV shows. There are even “ghost hunters” or “ghost busters” as they call themselves, who make a living searching out haunted houses and try to catch a glimpse of a real, live “ghost.”
While the Church does not officially teach anything in regards to the modern-day conception of ghosts, we can deduce very easily what they are:
(As a further clarification, I am dealing principally with the modern/popular definition of ghost. These “ghosts” are most often found in horror movies or on cable TV shows. I do not classify the souls in purgatory as “ghosts” in this modern sense of the word.)
First of all, reports of ghosts always revolve around something that scares an individual. It might be a moving object or a haunted house. Sometimes it is a report of a figure that someone saw that scared them. Often the person who believes they saw a ghost only catches a glimpse of it and the experience sends chills down the person’s whole body. Would an angel do that?
Angels do not appear to us in a scary way.
Whenever an angel appears to someone in the Bible, the person might be afraid at first, but then the angel speaks and urges them not to be afraid. The angel only appears to give a specific message of encouragement and to help a particular person draw closer to God.
Also, an angel does not seek to deceive and would not lurk around corners, trying to hide from someone. Their mission is very specific and often they assist us without us even knowing they are an angel.
Secondly, angels do not move objects in a room to scare us.
On the other hand, demons want to do exactly that: scare us. Demons want to trick us into believing that they are more powerful and want to scare us into submission. It is an old tactic. The devil wants to lure us away from God and wants us to have a fascination with the demonic.
He wants us to serve him and by scaring us in hopes that we will be afraid enough to do his will and not God’s will. In the same way that angels can put on a “costume” so as not to frighten us (they often appear as ordinary human beings) demons can do the same, except their intentions are much different. Demons can appear as a black cat or “ghost-like” figure in order to intimidate us.
Odds are very likely that if someone sees a ghost or if they are involved with “ghost-hunting,” what they saw is actually a demon.
The last option of what a ghost could be is a soul in purgatory, someone living out his purification on earth.
Souls in purgatory do visit people on earth, but it is typically to ask for prayers or to thank someone for prayers. The saints have attested through the centuries of seeing souls from purgatory, but these souls always seek the prayers of those they appear to and then thank the saint when they are admitted into Heaven. Souls in purgatory have a purpose behind their appearance and do not seek to scare or intimidate us.
In summary, do ghosts exist? Yes.
However, they are not Casper the Friendly Ghost. They are demons who want us to live a life of fear and to eventually submit ourselves to them.
Should we fear them? No.
While demons can put on quite the show, moving objects around the room and appearing to us in a frightening way, they only have power over us if we let them. Christ is infinitely more powerful and demons flee at the very name of Jesus.
Not only that, we have all be given a guardian angel who is always at our side to protect us from spiritual foes. Our guardian angel can defend us from the attacks of demons, but they only do so if we call upon their help.
How can we ask our guardian angel to protect us?
That is a good question, one which we will delve into next week.
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